July 24, 1911 marks the day of Machu Picchu’s discovery by American archeologist Hiram Bingham. He wrote, “Surprise followed surprise until there came the realization that we were in the  midst of as wonderful ruins as any ever found in Peru,”. Yet there has been controversy over who actually discovered this ancient Inca settlement in Peru. Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/Binghams-List-In-Dispute.html#ixzz21MXGyhM7

The desire for home ownership in America has a long history going back to 1862, when the Homestead Act came into being. Homestead Act (1862) The Homestead Act, enacted during the Civil War in 1862, provided that any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never borne arms against the U.S. government could claim 160 acres of surveyed government land. Claimants were required to “improve” the plot by building a dwelling and cultivating the land. After 5 years on the land, the original filer was entitled to the property, free and clear, except for a small registration fee. Title could also be acquired after only a 6-month residency and trivial…

On this day, July 19, in 1799 the Rosetta Stone was found. It is no small stone. The black basalt slab, found in the Egyptian town of Rosetta, is almost four feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide. First found by a French soldier when the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Eygpt, it is now located at the British Museum in London and has been housed there, with the exception of a brief time during World War I, since 1802. This historic discovery and eventual translation of the hieroglyphics, by French Egyptologist Jean-Francois Champollion, opened up the door to learning about the Ancient world of Egypt. Learn more at the History Channel

  January 1, 1863 A Transcription By the President of the United States of America: A Proclamation.   Whereas, on the twenty-second day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, a proclamation was issued by the President of the United States, containing, among other things, the following, to wit:   “That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and…

The start of Coca Cola, which initially included extracts of cocaine and the caffeine-rich kola nut, was a prime example of how important marketing is to the sucess of a product.

CNN) — The mainland United States, which was largely recovering Monday from a near-nationwide heat wave, has experienced the warmest 12 months since record-keeping began in 1895, a top government science and weather agency announced Monday. The report from the National Climatic Data Center, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, does not take into account blistering heat from this month, with 2,116 high temperature marks either broken or tied between July 2 and July 8 in communities nationwide. But it does incorporate the warmest March recorded as well as extreme heat in June, which also helped make the first six months of 2012 the warmest recorded…